Luke Combs: Why New Album Marks ‘Transitional Period’ with Fans

Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

July 12th, 2022 12:08 PM

Luke Combs is currently home with his wife, Nicole, and the couple’s baby boy, Tex Lawrence, enjoying parent time since the baby was born on June 19th. 

Before he took the dad break, Luke talked to us about why he named his brand-new album, Growin’ Up. He said, “I think calling this out and Growin’ Up is, you know, you still want to have, your fans that are college kids and you still want to be a college kid. But also, you got to realize that you have fans that were college kids, you know, seven years ago that are now probably about the same age as myself, maybe a little older, maybe a little younger.”

He added, “But we’re all kind of hitting this transitional period in our lives at the same time. And so, I want to be able to reach those people that I was planning to when I started, but also reach the people that have been here with me since day one. So, I think this home theater does its best to try and do that. But you guys will have to listen and let me know what you think for yourself.”

16 Luke Combs Songs That We Adore

• 16. “Does to Me” (featuring Eric Church) (2020)

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  A collaboration between Luke and Eric Church, who he cites as a musical hero. It was the third single from Combs's 2019 album What You See Is What You Get.

• 15. “Cold Beer Calling My Name” (featuring Jameson Rodgers) (2020)

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  Another collaboration, this time with new artist Jameson Rodgers. Rodgers served as an opening act for Combs during Luke’s 2019 "Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour."

• 14. “One Number Away” (2018)

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  This song is a ballad about a man conflicted with not wanting to break down and call his ex-girlfriend. "One Number Away" reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart, giving Combs his third No. 1 country hit overall.
• 13. “Brand New Man” (with Brooks and Dunn) (2019)

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  A remake of a Brooks & Dunn classic on the Country Music Hall of Fame duo’s ‘Reboot’ album. Luke is a huge fan of the duo, and when this writer interviewed him at the start of his career, one of his main goals was to meet Kix and Ronnie. Well, he did, and the rest is history.

• 12. “Better Together” (2020)

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  Combs performed the song on October 15, 2020, on the telecast of the Billboard Music Awards. During the performance, he appeared in a suit, and without his trademark baseball cap and was accompanied solely by a piano player.

• 11. “When It Rains It Pours” (2017)

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  The song's music video features Luke encountering his ex-girlfriend, and then driving, celebrating with his friends, getting a phone number from a waitress (played by his then-girlfriend, now wife, Nicole Hocking), and celebrating over winning money on a lottery ticket. It was nominated for Video of the Year at the 2018 CMT Music Awards.
• 10. “She Got the Best of Me” (2018)

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  Combs said that he wrote this song four years prior to its recording, at a bar in Nashville, Tennessee called the Tin Roof. It was added to his debut album This One's for You as a bonus track due to fan demand.

• 9. “Even Though I’m Leaving” (2019)

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  In the song’s first verse, Luke sings of a child who is afraid of monsters under his bed, while the second features the son as a young adult going off to serve in the military and the final verse features the son becoming emotional over his father's death.

• 8. “Cold as You” (2021)

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  Combs uploaded an acoustic rendition of "Cold as You" in October of 2020 and dedicated it to his parents, wife, and fans. The tune told the story of a broken-hearted guy finding his way to a barstool.
• 7. “Doin’ This” (2021)

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  This song was inspired by interviewers asking Luke what he would do as a career if his country music career didn’t take off. His answer is in this song saying that if he didn’t make it big, he’d still be “doin’ this.” He debuted the song at the 2021 CMA Awards.

• 6. “Six Feet Apart” (2020)

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  This song only charted in the top ten, but most of us related to it, as It perfectly describes what so many of us were feeling at the beginning of the pandemic.

• 5. “Lovin’ on You” (2020)

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  The video for this song is epic as it portrays Luke and his wife Nicole meeting at a skating center as kids. Combs performed the song on "The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon" in July 2020.
• 4. “Hurricane” (2016)

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  This is the song that started it all for Luke in Nashville. The song reached number one on the Billboard Country Airplay chart. Its second week atop that position gave Combs two distinctions: the first artist to have a multi-week number one debut single chart since Florida Georgia Line's "Cruise" in 2012 and the first male solo artist to accomplish that since Darius Rucker's "Don't Think I Don't Think About It" in 2008.

• 3. “Beautiful Crazy” (2019)

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  A beautiful love song. Luke first posted videos to Facebook of himself performing the song. In 2018, he re-issued his debut album This One's for You (titled This One's for You Too) with a studio version as a bonus track.

• 2. “Forever After All” (2021)

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  A song that tells the tale of his love for wife Nicole. The video of the song features footage from Combs’ August 2020 wedding. The song is a continuance of "Beautiful Crazy" and "Better Together," which were both dedicated to his wife.
• 1. “Beer Never Broke My Heart” (2019)

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  This is Luke’s signature song, and what a great concept for a song. The fun song hit No. 1 on Billboard's Country Airplay chart dated August 4, 2019, which made this Combs' sixth number one on the chart. The song was certified Platinum by the RIAA on October 24, 2019.

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Author Nancy Brooks // Country Writer, Beasley Media Group

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Luke Combs